I.(1.) Reading and Writing Assignment : Read pages 15-26 in Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH. Write a short essay that answers the following question: "Describe the many dangers/conflicts that Mrs. Frisby, her family, and others in her community face; explain how she faces those difficulties; and name what positive traits she has shown so far in the novel." Be sure to use supporting details from the text. Write one or two paragraphs. Be sure to echo the question. Mrs. Frisby and her family face many dangers/ conflicts like illness, being prey to other animals, the climate during the winter season, and the scarcity of food. She faces these dangers / conflicts like, when Timothy, her youngest son, got sick with pneumonia, and she went to visit Mr. Ages who was the mouse doctor. He gave her three packets of medicine so Timothy could recover from his illness. Mrs. Frisby was brave when she traveled to Mr. Ages house. On page 13 it described how she had to take the longest route so she could avoid being seen by Mr. Fitzgibbons cat, Dragon. It took Mrs. Frisby over two hours to get to Mr. Ages house. Another example of another danger/ conflict Mrs. Frisby faces is, when she leaves Mr. Ages house and sees a crow tangled up in Christmas twine, and caught on a fence. She took the risk of the crow killing her but she knew if she left him, he would be killed by other animals because it was going to be dark soon. She shows that she is caring and helpful in this situation because she risked her own life for another. By helping the crow, Jeremy, he did not kill her and saved her life when Dragon the cat spotted both of them. On Page 25 it describes how both Jeremy and Mrs. Frisby showed their courage when they worked together to save each other’s life.
II. (2.) Reading and Writing Assignment : Read pages 27-38 in Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH. Write responses to each of the following factual questions (be sure to echo the question), and then write a one-paragraph response to the thinking question. Be sure to write this response at the foot of your "...frisbyreflection121510" document. SO, you'll need to save it as firstnamelastnamefrisbyreflection121610 a. On pae 26, what does Jeremy the crow mean when he says, "We all help one another against the cat"? What message does the author seem to want to impart [give] to us about solving conflicts? When Jeremy the crow says we all help one another against the cat, he means that if we all work together we can find the solutions to conflicts in a dangerous situation. The message the author is trying to give about solving conflicts is that it doesn’t matter how different you are from one another but if you work together you can solve conflicts. b. As soon as Timothy has begun to heal, another more serious problem arises that has to do with "Moving Day." What is "Moving Day"? Why does Moving Day pose a serious dilemma [hard puzzle with no easy answer] for Mrs. Frisby and Timothy? {Why do they have to move?} Moving day is when all the mice in the community have to leave their winter homes and go their summer homes. Moving day poses a serious dilemma for Mrs. Frisby and Timothy because Mr. Ages explained that it would at least take a month for Timothy to fully recover and he was to stay in bed and not breathe cold air or experience one bit of coldness. Since moving day was two weeks away, Mrs. Frisby was worried because Timothy would be too weak to move, but they had to leave on moving day, because Mr. Fitzgibbon would start to plow the fields to prepare for his crops. If Mrs. Frisby stays then she and her family would surely die on moving day. c. On page 32, what is it that Mrs. Frisby remembers her husband saying about problems and solutions? What is the meaning of what he says? Mrs. Frisby remembers her husband saying “all doors are hard to unlock until you have the key.” The meaning of what he says is that there will be difficulties in your life, but if you find the solution you will be able to solve this problem. Thinking Question: "Mrs. Frisby has gotten help from Mr. Ages, and she has gotten an offer of help from Jeremy the crow on page 26. What do both events have in common as "solutions to problems"? So, if all "doors are hard to unlock unless you have the key," what is the special key that Mrs. Frisby needs to find? Think about it this way, what is the general advice that both Mr. Ages and Jeremy would give to anyone who had a difficulty? When YOU don't know what to do, what SHOULD you do? When Mrs. Frisby got help from Mr. Ages and then she got an offer from Jeremy to help her as well, these two events are similar because it shows that when you can solve problems when you ask or receive help from others. The general advice that Mr. Ages and Jeremy would give to anyone who had a difficulty is to ask someone for help if you don’t know what to do. III. (3.) Read Frisby pages 39 to 52. Summarize all of the major events. Use transitional language (First, Next, Then, After that....) From pages 39 to 52 first Mrs. Frisby learned that moving day was only five days away and that wouldn’t be enough time for Timothy to heal so she looks for Jeremy to ask him for help. Jeremy tells Mrs. Frisby on page 42, “when we don’t know what to do, we ask him.” Jeremy was talking about the owl. Next he tells Mrs. Frisby that he will take her to meet the owl but they have to go at dusk because the owl doesn’t answer questions during the day. So they meet at 5pm and Jeremy goes to pick up Mrs. Frisby at her house. Then they fly to a tree where the owl lives. After they arrive the owl asks Mrs. Frisby to come inside to he can take a closer look at her. Mrs. Frisby is scared because he thinks he’s going to eat her but she goes inside anyway. V. (5) Read Frisby pages 75-88.Write a short response that... How on pages 63 and 64 Mrs. Frisby and her son Timothy switch parent-child roles. On pages 63-64, Mrs. Frisby and Timothy switch parent-child roles when Timothy realizes that he was in danger of dying on moving because of the plow. Mrs. Frisby didn’t want to worry Timothy. Timothy reassures Mrs. Frisby that he will be fine but that he just wanted to talk about what would happen and Mrs. Frisby tells him not to think about it because that will make him worse. What Mrs. Frisby learns about the technology and architecture of the rats' sub-rosa world, and what we know and what we can infer about the rats' "plan." Mrs. Frisby learns that the rats are highly intelligent because they have electricity in their homes, and their wives use old bottles to create stain glass windows. They also have an elevator to be able to travel up and down from their underground home. They also built staircases, have books and have schedules for different types of groups to collect food and harvest food. They have blackboard for the schedule and also one of the rats, named Isabella is learning how to read. Mrs. Frisby learned of the rats “plan, “ which was to mess up the plow so that it will buy them enough time so they can escape.
VI. (6.) Read and respond to the following reflection questions:
Read Frisby pages 89-111.
Write a short essay that answers and explains the following:
+Describes and explains the meaning of strange advice that Mrs. Frisby is given by the owl. The owl tells Mrs. Frisby to go look in the lee of the stone because the lee of the stone means to go visit the rats so they can help Mrs. Frisby move their house before moving day because she doesn’t want Timothy to die.
+What two important pieces of infomation does Mrs. Frisby learn in the chapter "A Powder for Dragon," one about what "in the lee of the stone" means, and another about how Jonathan Frisby had died. Mrs. Frisby learns that the lee of the stone means to go visit the rats so they can help her move her house before moving day. She also learns that her husband, Jonathan Frisby died because he put powder in Dragon’s food and Dragon saw him and ate him. +In the chapter "The Marketplace" and "In the Cage," summarize what Mrs. Frisby and we learn about exactly where the rats come from, what happened there, and how they started to become whom or what they are--intelligent rats. In the chapter, “The Marketplace” and “In the Cage,” Mrs. Frisby learns that the rats come from NIHM which is a testing facility and they become who they are because at NIHM scientists put them through tests, gave them injections and put them through mazes so they can see how much they can boost the intelligence of the rat.
VII. (7.) Read through page 141. Answer the following:
�Describe step-by-step how the rats are taught to read. Explain how/in what way their escape from NIMH shows intelligence and responsibility and civilization. What is the identity of the rats of NIMH? In other words, what have they become?� The rats were taught to read when they were in the NIHM laboratory. They were shown a photograph of shapes and letters and words, and a monitor or screen was used with a recorded voice to teach them how to read. Their escape from NIHM showed intelligence because they did not try to escape right away. They spent years learning how to escape through the air ducts. Their escape also showed responsibility because in their escape they followed their plan and stayed together.
VIII. (8.) Read Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, pages 142-148
Question/Writing: In the chapter �The Boniface Estate,� what are the signs that the rats have totally transformed into different creatures, that they now have a different identity? What are the clues (reactions) from other rats that the identity of the rats of NIMH has changed? What discontent, or worry, do the rats start to have about stealing? What is the greatest discovery that the rats make at the Boniface Estate? What does all of this mean about the rats� identity�about who they are? The clues that the rats from NIHM have totally changed are that they are bigger, stronger and more intelligent than the average rat because in the laboratory they were put through many different experiments, given two different types injection, one of them double their life span. Other rats realized what had happened to the Rats of NIHM. They looked different, and were bigger. They were surprised that they could read and things like using a can opener. The rats worry that if they keep stealing things like food, electricity, and other things that they would need to survive because they knew that if they got caught that pest control would be called and they would die. The greatest discovery they make at the Boniface Estate is the truck that the owner of the estate owned because when they got inside the truck, there were toys and other supplies that the rats could use for specific reasons like for electricity. This all means that the rats identity is not like a rat, it’s more human like.
IX. (9.)
Read Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, pages 149-157
Question/Writing: In the chapter �The Main Hall,� what occurs that shows that the author wants to remind us of the theme/message of kindness? Later in this chapter he moves on to the theme of self-sufficiency. Define �self-sufficiency.� Look it up in the dictionary. Why do the rats want to be self-sufficient? What preparations, or invention, have they made to plan to be self-sufficient? In the chapter, “The Main Hall”, the author wants to reminds us of the theme/message of kindness by showing us how the rats of NIHM help Mrs. Frisby with a plan to move her house before moving day so Timothy doesn’t die. That act of kindness shows that you can always count on someone in a great time of need. Self-sufficiency is being able to support yourself and to not have help from others. The rats want to be self-sufficient because they don’t want to steal anymore. To be self-sufficient the rats created a plow to carry the seeds from Farmer’s Fitzgibbon garden so they can have their own food supply.
X. (10.) Read Mrs. Frisby pages 158-164.
Answer the following questions in an extended response of at least eight sentences.Why do the rats admire the monks of the Middle Ages?In what way werethe monks self-sufficient? Why were/are the rats so hated?Whatmistake was made by the prairie dogs, according to a book in the Boniface Estate Library? Based on the answers to these questions, whatlesson about the building of a future civilization do the rats make? In other words, when the rats leave the Fitzgibbon Farm,how do the rats want to live and what kind of a community do they want to create? The rats admire the monks of the Middle Ages because they live simple lives. The monks were self-sufficient because they studied, wrote, grew their own food and built their own house and furniture. Another way they were self-sufficient was they made their own tools and paper. The rats are hated because most people think they have diseases, when actually rats don’t really carry many diseases as humans do. The mistake that the prairie dogs made was that they grew soft and lazy and that didn’t really help them make any more progress. The rats learn that in order to build a future civilization they have to overcome their challenges and accept that in the human world they are not accepted as equals and that in order survive they have to be self-sufficient or else they won’t make any progress. The rats want a community where they can be accepted.
XI. (11.)Read Frisby pages 165-186.
Answer the following thinking questions in a short essay of no fewer than 8 sentences, and no more than 20 sentences:
[[#x---A. What does the allegorical story [story with an intended message] of the vacuum cleaner business on pages]]
A. What does the allegorical story [story with an intended message] of the vacuum cleaner business on pages
169-171 mean about the danger of taking the easy way out, of the danger of �stealing�?
B. Why does Jenner disagree with Nicodemus about whether they should move to Thorn Valley? Why does Nicodemus disagree with Jenner? Later on, in the next chapter, �Captured,� we learn why Jenner left. Why did he and his followers leave?
C. On page 179, what do we learn about Jonathan Frisby that shows his kindness towards his wife? What did he not tell Mrs. Frisby? Why did he not tell her this?
D. All of the above responses have to do with doing the right thing. According to the author, what does it mean to do the right thing? Refer to your answers above. What does the author want us to see about the connection between being civilized and �doing the right thing"?
XII. (12). Read Frisby pages 187-194.
Answer the following fact and thinking questions:
A. What does Mrs. Frisby learn when she is captured, inside the birdcage?
B. Why, ironically, is Mrs. Frisby's capture a good thing?
[[#x---C. Describe two other examples of "entrapment" [being trapped or caught] that, ironically, led to good things. Explain fully.]]
C. Describe two other examples of "entrapment" [being trapped or caught] that, ironically, led to good things. Explain fully.
XIII. (13). Read Frisby pages 195-205
In the chapter, �Escape,� (especially on pages 196 and 197) Mrs. Frisby spends quite a bit of time thinking about the rats. Re-read those pages. Why does Mrs. Frisby want to escape and do? What does this say about her character? What does she say about the rats and their plan? What message does the author want to give us about goodness and bravery and intelligence and civilizations?
During the last five pages of the chapter, we see the rats actually moving Mrs. Frisby�s house. What do they do? How do they do it? In what ways do they show specialization of labor? In what ways do they show intelligence? Resourcefulness? Cooperation? According to the author, what does it mean to be truly civilized?
XIV. (14) Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, pages 206-215
On page 206, how do we know that an important conflict (Mrs. Frisby�s conflict) has been resolved?
[[#x---At the meeting with the rats that Mrs. Frisby attends, explain exactly how�and why--the rats intelligently come to the conclusion that they must abandon their �subrosa� [meaning under the rose and meaning a secret] home? What evidence do they have? How do they intelligently evaluate the evidence? What predictions do they make?]]At the meeting with the rats that Mrs. Frisby attends, explain exactly how�and why--the rats intelligently come to the conclusion that they must abandon their �subrosa� [meaning under the rose and meaning a secret] home? What evidence do they have? How do they intelligently evaluate the evidence? What predictions do they make?
Then, after they decide to abandon their underground lair, what strange plan do they hatch? Why do they come up with this plan?
Timothy asks his mother on page 215 why the rats are moving away. She says, �Because they want to.� This is a deep and profound statement.Why do the rats want to move away? What does their wanting to do so reveal about who they are and what their true character is?
XV. (15) Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, pages 216-233
The author ends the novel with a final �statement� about intelligence, courage, and kindness. In your own view, what is the overall, general message that the author would like to leave us with about being civilized, especially as it relates to intelligence, courage, and responsibility? More specifically, in what way are all three ideas related to the idea of being civilized?
First, in what way does the rats� method of trying to fool their would-be executioners show intelligence? What do the rats do that is clever?
Second, what brave or heroic action does Mrs. Frisby witness? What past action of her own does it �mirror,� or in what way has she, too, been heroic?
Thirdly, on pages 230 and 231, how does Mrs. Frisby show kindness or consideration or responsibility when she speaks with her children?
Finally, re-read what you wrote. Then, think and write: What does the author of Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH want us to know about being civilized? What does it mean to be civilized? Whatare the character traits of a civilized person? Why is being civilized hard? Is it easier to be �uncivilized�? Why?
I.(1.) Reading and Writing Assignment :
Read pages 15-26 in Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH.
Write a short essay that answers the following question:
"Describe the many dangers/conflicts that Mrs. Frisby, her family, and others in her community face;
explain how she faces those difficulties; and name what positive traits she has shown so far in the novel."
Be sure to use supporting details from the text. Write one or two paragraphs. Be sure to echo the question.
Mrs. Frisby and her family face many dangers/ conflicts like illness, being prey to other animals, the climate during the winter season, and the scarcity of food. She faces these dangers / conflicts like, when Timothy, her youngest son, got sick with pneumonia, and she went to visit Mr. Ages who was the mouse doctor. He gave her three packets of medicine so Timothy could recover from his illness. Mrs. Frisby was brave when she traveled to Mr. Ages house. On page 13 it described how she had to take the longest route so she could avoid being seen by Mr. Fitzgibbons cat, Dragon. It took Mrs. Frisby over two hours to get to Mr. Ages house.
Another example of another danger/ conflict Mrs. Frisby faces is, when she leaves Mr. Ages house and sees a crow tangled up in Christmas twine, and caught on a fence. She took the risk of the crow killing her but she knew if she left him, he would be killed by other animals because it was going to be dark soon. She shows that she is caring and helpful in this situation because she risked her own life for another. By helping the crow, Jeremy, he did not kill her and saved her life when Dragon the cat spotted both of them. On Page 25 it describes how both Jeremy and Mrs. Frisby showed their courage when they worked together to save each other’s life.
II. (2.) Reading and Writing Assignment :
Read pages 27-38 in Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH.
Write responses to each of the following factual questions (be sure to echo the question), and then write a one-paragraph response to the thinking question. Be sure to write this response at the foot of your "...frisbyreflection121510" document. SO, you'll need to save it as firstnamelastnamefrisbyreflection121610
a. On pae 26, what does Jeremy the crow mean when he says, "We all help one another against the cat"? What message does the author seem to want to impart [give] to us about solving conflicts?
When Jeremy the crow says we all help one another against the cat, he means that if we all work together we can find the solutions to conflicts in a dangerous situation. The message the author is trying to give about solving conflicts is that it doesn’t matter how different you are from one another but if you work together you can solve conflicts.
b. As soon as Timothy has begun to heal, another more serious problem arises that has to do with "Moving Day."
What is "Moving Day"? Why does Moving Day pose a serious dilemma [hard puzzle with no easy answer] for Mrs. Frisby and Timothy?
{Why do they have to move?}
Moving day is when all the mice in the community have to leave their winter homes and go their summer homes. Moving day poses a serious dilemma for Mrs. Frisby and Timothy because Mr. Ages explained that it would at least take a month for Timothy to fully recover and he was to stay in bed and not breathe cold air or experience one bit of coldness. Since moving day was two weeks away, Mrs. Frisby was worried because Timothy would be too weak to move, but they had to leave on moving day, because Mr. Fitzgibbon would start to plow the fields to prepare for his crops. If Mrs. Frisby stays then she and her family would surely die on moving day.
c. On page 32, what is it that Mrs. Frisby remembers her husband saying about problems and solutions? What is the meaning of what he says?
Mrs. Frisby remembers her husband saying “all doors are hard to unlock until you have the key.” The meaning of what he says is that there will be difficulties in your life, but if you find the solution you will be able to solve this problem.
Thinking Question: "Mrs. Frisby has gotten help from Mr. Ages, and she has gotten an offer of help from Jeremy the crow on page 26. What do both events have in common as "solutions to problems"?
So, if all "doors are hard to unlock unless you have the key," what is the special key that Mrs. Frisby needs to find? Think about it this way, what is the general advice that both Mr. Ages and Jeremy would give to anyone who had a difficulty? When YOU don't know what to do, what SHOULD you do?
When Mrs. Frisby got help from Mr. Ages and then she got an offer from Jeremy to help her as well, these two events are similar because it shows that when you can solve problems when you ask or receive help from others. The general advice that Mr. Ages and Jeremy would give to anyone who had a difficulty is to ask someone for help if you don’t know what to do.
III. (3.) Read Frisby pages 39 to 52. Summarize all of the major events. Use transitional language (First, Next, Then, After that....)
From pages 39 to 52 first Mrs. Frisby learned that moving day was only five days away and that wouldn’t be enough time for Timothy to heal so she looks for Jeremy to ask him for help. Jeremy tells Mrs. Frisby on page 42, “when we don’t know what to do, we ask him.” Jeremy was talking about the owl. Next he tells Mrs. Frisby that he will take her to meet the owl but they have to go at dusk because the owl doesn’t answer questions during the day. So they meet at 5pm and Jeremy goes to pick up Mrs. Frisby at her house. Then they fly to a tree where the owl lives. After they arrive the owl asks Mrs. Frisby to come inside to he can take a closer look at her. Mrs. Frisby is scared because he thinks he’s going to eat her but she goes inside anyway.
V. (5) Read Frisby pages 75-88.Write a short response that...
How on pages 63 and 64 Mrs. Frisby and her son Timothy switch parent-child roles.
On pages 63-64, Mrs. Frisby and Timothy switch parent-child roles when Timothy realizes that he was in danger of dying on moving because of the plow. Mrs. Frisby didn’t want to worry Timothy. Timothy reassures Mrs. Frisby that he will be fine but that he just wanted to talk about what would happen and Mrs. Frisby tells him not to think about it because that will make him worse.
What Mrs. Frisby learns about the technology and architecture of the rats' sub-rosa world, and what we know and what we can infer about the rats' "plan."
Mrs. Frisby learns that the rats are highly intelligent because they have electricity in their homes, and their wives use old bottles to create stain glass windows. They also have an elevator to be able to travel up and down from their underground home. They also built staircases, have books and have schedules for different types of groups to collect food and harvest food. They have blackboard for the schedule and also one of the rats, named Isabella is learning how to read. Mrs. Frisby learned of the rats “plan, “ which was to mess up the plow so that it will buy them enough time so they can escape.
VI. (6.) Read and respond to the following reflection questions:
Read Frisby pages 89-111.
Write a short essay that answers and explains the following:
+Describes and explains the meaning of strange advice that Mrs. Frisby is given by the owl.
The owl tells Mrs. Frisby to go look in the lee of the stone because the lee of the stone means to go visit the rats so they can help Mrs. Frisby move their house before moving day because she doesn’t want Timothy to die.
+What two important pieces of infomation does Mrs. Frisby learn in the chapter "A Powder for Dragon," one about what "in the lee of the stone" means, and another about how Jonathan Frisby had died.
Mrs. Frisby learns that the lee of the stone means to go visit the rats so they can help her move her house before moving day. She also learns that her husband, Jonathan Frisby died because he put powder in Dragon’s food and Dragon saw him and ate him.
+In the chapter "The Marketplace" and "In the Cage," summarize what Mrs. Frisby and we learn about exactly where the rats come from, what happened there, and how they started to become whom or what they are--intelligent rats.
In the chapter, “The Marketplace” and “In the Cage,” Mrs. Frisby learns that the rats come from NIHM which is a testing facility and they become who they are because at NIHM scientists put them through tests, gave them injections and put them through mazes so they can see how much they can boost the intelligence of the rat.
VII. (7.) Read through page 141. Answer the following:
�Describe step-by-step how the rats are taught to read. Explain how/in what way their escape from NIMH shows intelligence and responsibility and civilization. What is the identity of the rats of NIMH? In other words, what have they become?�
The rats were taught to read when they were in the NIHM laboratory. They were shown a photograph of shapes and letters and words, and a monitor or screen was used with a recorded voice to teach them how to read. Their escape from NIHM showed intelligence because they did not try to escape right away. They spent years learning how to escape through the air ducts. Their escape also showed responsibility because in their escape they followed their plan and stayed together.
VIII. (8.) Read Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, pages 142-148
Question/Writing: In the chapter �The Boniface Estate,� what are the signs that the rats have totally transformed into different creatures, that they now have a different identity? What are the clues (reactions) from other rats that the identity of the rats of NIMH has changed? What discontent, or worry, do the rats start to have about stealing? What is the greatest discovery that the rats make at the Boniface Estate? What does all of this mean about the rats� identity�about who they are?
The clues that the rats from NIHM have totally changed are that they are bigger, stronger and more intelligent than the average rat because in the laboratory they were put through many different experiments, given two different types injection, one of them double their life span. Other rats realized what had happened to the Rats of NIHM. They looked different, and were bigger. They were surprised that they could read and things like using a can opener. The rats worry that if they keep stealing things like food, electricity, and other things that they would need to survive because they knew that if they got caught that pest control would be called and they would die. The greatest discovery they make at the Boniface Estate is the truck that the owner of the estate owned because when they got inside the truck, there were toys and other supplies that the rats could use for specific reasons like for electricity. This all means that the rats identity is not like a rat, it’s more human like.
IX. (9.)
Read Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, pages 149-157
Question/Writing: In the chapter �The Main Hall,� what occurs that shows that the author wants to remind us of the theme/message of kindness? Later in this chapter he moves on to the theme of self-sufficiency. Define �self-sufficiency.� Look it up in the dictionary. Why do the rats want to be self-sufficient? What preparations, or invention, have they made to plan to be self-sufficient?
In the chapter, “The Main Hall”, the author wants to reminds us of the theme/message of kindness by showing us how the rats of NIHM help Mrs. Frisby with a plan to move her house before moving day so Timothy doesn’t die. That act of kindness shows that you can always count on someone in a great time of need. Self-sufficiency is being able to support yourself and to not have help from others. The rats want to be self-sufficient because they don’t want to steal anymore. To be self-sufficient the rats created a plow to carry the seeds from Farmer’s Fitzgibbon garden so they can have their own food supply.
X. (10.) Read Mrs. Frisby pages 158-164.
Answer the following questions in an extended response of at least eight sentences.Why do the rats admire the monks of the Middle Ages?In what way werethe monks self-sufficient? Why were/are the rats so hated?Whatmistake was made by the prairie dogs, according to a book in the Boniface Estate Library? Based on the answers to these questions, whatlesson about the building of a future civilization do the rats make? In other words, when the rats leave the Fitzgibbon Farm,how do the rats want to live and what kind of a community do they want to create?
The rats admire the monks of the Middle Ages because they live simple lives. The monks were self-sufficient because they studied, wrote, grew their own food and built their own house and furniture. Another way they were self-sufficient was they made their own tools and paper. The rats are hated because most people think they have diseases, when actually rats don’t really carry many diseases as humans do. The mistake that the prairie dogs made was that they grew soft and lazy and that didn’t really help them make any more progress. The rats learn that in order to build a future civilization they have to overcome their challenges and accept that in the human world they are not accepted as equals and that in order survive they have to be self-sufficient or else they won’t make any progress. The rats want a community where they can be accepted.
XI. (11.) Read Frisby pages 165-186.
Answer the following thinking questions in a short essay of no fewer than 8 sentences, and no more than 20 sentences:
[[#x---A. What does the allegorical story [story with an intended message] of the vacuum cleaner business on pages]]
A. What does the allegorical story [story with an intended message] of the vacuum cleaner business on pages
169-171 mean about the danger of taking the easy way out, of the danger of �stealing�?
B. Why does Jenner disagree with Nicodemus about whether they should move to Thorn Valley? Why does Nicodemus disagree with Jenner? Later on, in the next chapter, �Captured,� we learn why Jenner left. Why did he and his followers leave?
C. On page 179, what do we learn about Jonathan Frisby that shows his kindness towards his wife? What did he not tell Mrs. Frisby? Why did he not tell her this?
D. All of the above responses have to do with doing the right thing. According to the author, what does it mean to do the right thing? Refer to your answers above. What does the author want us to see about the connection between being civilized and �doing the right thing"?
XII. (12). Read Frisby pages 187-194.
Answer the following fact and thinking questions:
A. What does Mrs. Frisby learn when she is captured, inside the birdcage?
B. Why, ironically, is Mrs. Frisby's capture a good thing?
[[#x---C. Describe two other examples of "entrapment" [being trapped or caught] that, ironically, led to good things. Explain fully.]]
C. Describe two other examples of "entrapment" [being trapped or caught] that, ironically, led to good things. Explain fully.
XIII. (13). Read Frisby pages 195-205
In the chapter, �Escape,� (especially on pages 196 and 197) Mrs. Frisby spends quite a bit of time thinking about the rats. Re-read those pages. Why does Mrs. Frisby want to escape and do? What does this say about her character? What does she say about the rats and their plan? What message does the author want to give us about goodness and bravery and intelligence and civilizations?
During the last five pages of the chapter, we see the rats actually moving Mrs. Frisby�s house. What do they do? How do they do it? In what ways do they show specialization of labor? In what ways do they show intelligence? Resourcefulness? Cooperation? According to the author, what does it mean to be truly civilized?
XIV. (14) Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, pages 206-215
On page 206, how do we know that an important conflict (Mrs. Frisby�s conflict) has been resolved?
[[#x---At the meeting with the rats that Mrs. Frisby attends, explain exactly how�and why--the rats intelligently come to the conclusion that they must abandon their �subrosa� [meaning under the rose and meaning a secret] home? What evidence do they have? How do they intelligently evaluate the evidence? What predictions do they make?]]At the meeting with the rats that Mrs. Frisby attends, explain exactly how�and why--the rats intelligently come to the conclusion that they must abandon their �subrosa� [meaning under the rose and meaning a secret] home? What evidence do they have? How do they intelligently evaluate the evidence? What predictions do they make?
Then, after they decide to abandon their underground lair, what strange plan do they hatch? Why do they come up with this plan?
Timothy asks his mother on page 215 why the rats are moving away. She says, �Because they want to.� This is a deep and profound statement. Why do the rats want to move away? What does their wanting to do so reveal about who they are and what their true character is?
XV. (15) Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, pages 216-233
The author ends the novel with a final �statement� about intelligence, courage, and kindness. In your own view, what is the overall, general message that the author would like to leave us with about being civilized, especially as it relates to intelligence, courage, and responsibility? More specifically, in what way are all three ideas related to the idea of being civilized?
First, in what way does the rats� method of trying to fool their would-be executioners show intelligence? What do the rats do that is clever?
Second, what brave or heroic action does Mrs. Frisby witness? What past action of her own does it �mirror,� or in what way has she, too, been heroic?
Thirdly, on pages 230 and 231, how does Mrs. Frisby show kindness or consideration or responsibility when she speaks with her children?
Finally, re-read what you wrote. Then, think and write: What does the author of Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH want us to know about being civilized? What does it mean to be civilized? What are the character traits of a civilized person? Why is being civilized hard? Is it easier to be �uncivilized�? Why?